Bite of Dog
by Owl Satire
Summary: Vampire/Werewolf AU. Varia is a small clan under Vongola's protection. Vongola undergoes a change of leadership and Varia's leader, Squalo, has to cope with this and threatening Werewolf Packs as well as his own wounded pride. T for language, M for later themes. Squalo x Xanxus. IN PROGRESS
1. Chapter 1: Ad Infinitum

**EDIT 9/21: I have updated a lot of the wording and minor spelling mistakes in this chapter and am working on Chapters 2 and 3 (I split the original chapter into two separate chapters) so hold tight!**

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**Gosh! This is my first fanfic so don't judge me too harshly, but please, leave any comments or criticism you have for me! I'd love to be known as the person who writes in character fic, not horribly out of character fic!**

**I'm actively seeking someone to beta this and help me plan the future of this fic as I have yet to decide how long I want it or what turns for it to take. If you are interested, let me know!**

**WARNING**

**This story runs the risk of having straight out smut, dubcon, violence/abuse, potential major character death, and maybe even werewolf on vampire action. I'm not so sure! I have decided all the nitty gritty details yet! Any beta-wannabes should be aware of these themes that I want to write and should be okay with beta-ing any scenes with these.**

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**Some details about this AU**

**Varia: **A small, tightly knit vampire clan with individually powerful members led by Squalo. The Varia clan is under Vongola's protection so that larger clans and werewolf packs do not wipe them out. Loyal to a degree, the Varia members tend to value their independence over everything else. However they are fierce and a powerful fighting asset to the Vongola.

**Vongola: **One of the largest vampire clans that has recently undergone a change in leadership. Lead by Tsuna and his guardians. Protects and Varia and generally tries to keep the peace between clans. Feared among other clans.

**Wrath Pack: **A werewolf pack interested in Vongola's weakness. Ruthless toward vampires. Lead by the alpha, Xanxus, who once had ties with Vongola.

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Boots thumped against a thin red carpet. Through a tall window nearby shone the white-silver light of the nearly-full moon. As if reflecting the moon's surface, a silver banner of hair swayed as its owner paced. A pause and the steady sound of nervousness quieted down. The proud Squalo Superbia would never admit to his clan that Vongola's change of leadership made his stomach flutter. When Squalo was unsettled, his clan would be, and that was not something he'd inflict upon them. The Varia was a small clan, and the only reason they hadn't been crushed by other clans or roaming werewolves was thanks to the Vongola.

Silver-slitted eyes turned up as the door opened quietly. It was Fran, the youngest of his clan, but also brimming with immense potential. The kid was apathetic, somewhat sarcastic and often was on the receiving end of Squalo's anger but he possessed abilities that very few vampires could utilize.

"Voi, brat, what do you want?"

Squalo's voice was flat, but laced with the annoyance the shark always carried on his shoulders. Fran shrugged at the insult.

"Letter for you."

Fran didn't care much to treat his Clan Leader with honorifics and simply plopped the letter into Squalo's hand. Squalo preferred it this way when younger members were constantly kissing his fingers or boots or bowing. It was pointless. He was their leader, but also as much one of them as the others. Dismissed with a wave, Fran turned and disappeared as quietly as he'd arrived.

He tore open with a shark-tooth letter opener and scanned once he realized who had sent it. The red wax seal was still intact.

'Dearest Superbia…'

Squalo scoffed at the use of his last name "Fuckers." The Vongola sure drove him nuts. He breathed quietly after he'd finished the introduction. He scanned the letter once and frowned. A second time formed lines on his face. A third read and he slammed the letter on his desk with a shout and fangs bared. "Voii! Who does the new fucking Vongola brat think he is talking to me like that!?" Sqaulo skewered the letter with the sharpened letter opener, fastening it to his desk like a testament of the shark's bottled fury and frustrations.

The doors to Squalo's office blew open and the vampire lord stormed out into the open mansion the Varia Clan lived together in. Grumbling curses of all colors, Squalo made his way down two flights of stairs and into the hall where the clan spent most of their time together.

"Ah, Squ-chan~!" The excited voice of one of Squalo's oldest companions, Lussuria, rang out as the feminine man waved excitedly at his boss's arrival. Lussuria was excitable and reliable. His fighting style was ruthless, which was betrayed by his cheery demeanor. He was also talented at getting on Squalo's nerves.

Squalo scanned the room with sharp eyes. Only seeing Lussuria, Belphegor, and Fran (who'd just sat down after delivering Squalo's mail), he frowned.

"Where's the rest of our trash?"

Squalo was obviously referring to every other member of the clan. He was not well-known for his affection and better remembered for his shark-like viciousness and vibrancy with words. There was never shock when Squalo referred to his clan, his family, as trash.

"Shishishi," It was Belphegor's notoriously annoying laugh, "Don't you remember, boss? Tonight Vongola is bringing their leftovers to feed to us; the others went to meet them halfway!" The word 'leftovers' was spoken with the only amount of distaste Bel ever showed (which was often covered up by his constant sadistic bemusement). Squalo sighed, feeding night had snuck up on them very quickly. He'd completely spaced it with the arrival of the Vongola letter.

A wolf howl caused the room to fall deathly silent, the vampires hardly daring to breath. Werewolves always made the clan members nervous because each of them had their own special experiences with the elusive and powerful beasts. There shouldn't have been enmity between the vampires and werewolves in the first place, but none of them had ever tried to change it.

Squalo came to his senses first and spat, "Voii, yeah? Huh, right. I fucking forgot that we're forced to eat outta their shitty hands for a moment there." His lip curled a little with his own wounded pride. The Vongola were great at providing meals for their reliant Varia. But it ticked Squalo off to no end that the Vongola had been so 'good-natured' about feeding, much to Squalo's chagrin. They used only criminals and wrong-doers to feed and threw their uneaten scraps to the Varia to buy their loyalty like starving dogs. So they often did not allow the Varia Vampires to hunt for themselves because their choice of prey often displeased those that held their leashes.

Oh, Squalo hated being treated like a dog, his pride rarely allowed him to accept it.

The whole arrangement between Varia and Vongola made Squalo sick. From the day Tyr turned him into a vampire, to the day Squalo cut his throat to become both clan leader and Sword Emperor, the concept of being Vongola's precious lapdog had always made him heave. The members of Varia were strong and independent and only swore fealty to the strong and it gave each one of them a bitter taste on their tongues to stoop so low.

It was in Squalo's name that he was too proud for such a deal, but pride did not blind him. As leader, it was his job to keep the clan safe and fed. Without hiding in the Vongola's shadow, tight-knit Varia would no longer exist, crushed by the Millefiore or some Werewolf packs hundreds of years ago. Numbers often did overpower strength. Squalo was powerful, so were Bel, Lussuria, Fran, and every other member of their clan, but Squalo would not risk their lives for a petty squabble over pride. You could not be proud if you weren't alive.

Squalo's prosthetic fist clenched, he knew the others were aware of how much this wounded him and his pride. It made him even angrier that he was so weak to let the others pick up on it.

"I suppose," Squalo broke his contemplative, disgusted silence with words that had a bite and looked at his three most trusted clan members, "It's best. The moon is near-ripe. It would be bad for us if the mutts attacked the Vongola on their way to us. Then who would yank our chains around, eh?"

Lussuria nodded knowingly and smiled at his leader's words, "We sent everyone who was home, so…" Squalo ignored the bright man as he rattled off a list of names, also telling Squalo who had left the manor on other business before realizing his boss was not hearing a word he was saying and frowned sadly. "We stayed so you could be safe, Squ-chan!"

Squalo snarled at Lussuria, who did not flinch. "Voii! You fuckers! Who told you shit trashes I needed protecting! I'm your damn leader!" No words followed Squalo's outburst, only the familiar 'shishishi' of Bel's laughter.

Oh, Squalo's mood became sour. First a letter from the Vongola brat and now his friends were all soft in the head. Did he ever have something to say that would get them all alert.

"The new Vongola brat is coming with them, you trashes."

Squalo's voice was so acidic that the disdain could have melted straight through the mahogany table. Lussuria practically wiggled with excitement, Bel's smile never dropped, and Fran… well, Fran was as blank as ever. The boy with the frog hat rarely seemed to express emotion. He whispered something to Bel and Bel laughed and whispered back. All Squalo heard was Fran's initial 'Sempai...' before he stopped caring what the two had to say to each other.

Another wolf howl cut through the open window. Squalo saw Bel's face falter, even if it was for the tiniest second. He remembered the prince's story well and sometimes laughed to himself when thinking of Bel's past. The only kid who actually asked Tyr to turn him. It was a rather memorable event for the older Varia vampires.

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_Belphegor's smile faltered, werewolves were pursuing him and as a simple human, there was no way he'd survive. His cunning was the only thing that would save his life now, but he would try to run as far as he could first._

_His brother followed behind, frantically gripping for Bel's wrist. Bel frowned and looked behind him as he ran, feet breaking sticks and skidding over mud on such a wet night. They weren't dressed for this wet full-moon. No one had told them a werewolf pack would slaughter their parents before chasing them into the woods that surrounded their home. Their parents told them every night for their entire lives that werewolves did not hunt those who did no wrong to them._

_They had lied._

_Wolves were fast. They were merely boys. They would die if they didn't find a way to outsmart the beasts._

_Then he smiled at his brother._

_As his brother fell over, he'd tripped, Belphegor felt a speed take him over and he ran faster than the wind could blow. Only the clever survived, after all. Those who were not clever were not fit to rule as royalty. Heirs had to rule one day, so they needed to be strong and wise. That was Belphegor's place. It was his place to destroy these wolves and reclaim the throne that rightfully belonged to him._

_In time, of course._

_He never particularly mourned using his brother as a blood sacrifice to save his own life. He simply concerned himself over the day those mutts decided they wanted to taste royal blood once more. He would need to enlist the aid of other mongrels. A human could not do it alone._

_No good prince would shed his pristine blood for a beast that fed the fleas._

_It was later when he would approach the Varia, strong and independent and known for their ferocity in combat, and demand Tyr to turn him._

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Top of the food chain, vampires, but even those at the top have things that can kill them; werewolves… and each other.

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Squalo seated himself comfortably in the hall, occasionally bursting up to shout at Lussuria or to tell Bel and Fran to shut the fuck up. After a particularly violent bout of verbal abuse, Squalo stopped and turned his head slowly. There was a kid, hardly fifteen, in the doorway.

"Voii, brat, you lost or something you little fucker?"

The boy only shook his head and smiled.

"My apologies, Mister Superbia Squalo, for not coming to meet you sooner. I am Vongola's tenth lord, Sawada Tsunayoshi."

Squalo's lips were tight as he surveyed the lord in front of him, 'Japanese, and so young! What was Vongola thinking making such a green vampire their new lord?' What a bitter bug this bred inside of his stomach. There was no way he'd follow this kid. Following Nono was hard enough. Squalo was about to retaliate with no less harshness than before, but a clamor was heard from beyond the Vongola Tenth. Shouting. The shark bared his teeth. "What the fuck is going on?"

Bursting past the small Tenth was a human, his hands were bound behind his back and he looked scared shitless. The man didn't get far before tripping. Looking up as he tried to recover, he froze under the silver, shark-like glare fixed on him. He seemed to shrink, Squalo's will was nigh-indomitable to humans, it was one of his special abilities as a clan lord. Somewhere, either Lussuria or Bel chuckled, probably both of them.

"Fucking trash." Squalo snarled as raised his head in fury to Tsuna. "Voooii! Which one of your trashes lost their mind-control on him!? Now this scum is drooling on my boots!" He stomped and the man whimpered, the heavy boot was close to his face. Squalo's anger made Tsuna flinch. A tall, black-haired boy Tsuna's age appeared past his leader, scratching his neck sheepishly. "Sorry Mister Varia, I got distracted."

A growl bubbled up in Squalo's throat. He didn't ignore the sword on the kid's back, his eyes narrowed slightly.

The black-haired boy collected his charge and shuffled him out of the room, leaving another quick apology to the shark, whose eyes never left the young vampire's choice of weapon.

Tsuna gave a sorry smile to Squalo, "Do you have a feeding hierarchy?" The words snapped Squalo back into reality. When the silver-haired lord shook his head, Tsuna looked slightly relieved. "Good, we fed your men on the way here, they were looking ravenous, I didn't want to tease them. You and your guardians are the only ones left to feed. We are putting the food in storage and you can eat when you'd like. Did you receive my letter?"

Squalo nodded bitterly, convinced the young Vongola did not notice subtle emotional shifts. Though there was no hierarchy, it bothered them that his men were fed without him there to supervise. He kept mental bank of when everyone had eaten and what. Some vampires needed blood of a certain age group to stay fuller longer. Squalo could only hope that his vampires were smart enough to let the Vongola know. It took the shark's willpower not to show his fangs and threaten the small vampire lord in front of him.

"Voi, Lussuria, Bel, Fran, leave us and get something to eat you fucking trashes, but leave a good one for me and don't fuckin' pig out." He curled a lip and the three cleared the room, eager for a meal and to get away from their boss's anger.

Squalo threw himself back into his seat at the head of the table and Tsuna found himself comfortable in a seat diagonal from Squalo's 'throne'. The young leader's face grew harder. "I told you in my letter I would explain the entire situation to you when I arrived, I hope of calming any concerns you might have, and so I shall."

"The ninth gave up leadership because the Wrath Pack attacked. We thought Wrath was at least on acceptable terms with us. The ninth had been nothing but respectable toward the pack leader and even treated him like a son, they had known one another for so long. I think you remember, though, ninety years ago when the alpha turned on the ninth."

Squalo looked down, oh yes, did he ever remember that. The Vongola had actually requested the Varia Clan's help in defense. "Voii, brat, the Vongola won that encounter. I was there." He flexed his prosthetic arm to show Tsuna, "Get to the point." Squalo's forced politeness was purely diplomatic. He wanted nothing to do with this kid.

Tsuna's eyes clouded, as if he were remembering something hard. "Wrath Pack has killed the ninth. The alpha had his revenge for ninety years ago and tore the ninth's throat out."

Squalo practically blanched, had his skin not already been porcelain pale when he pictured this. The ninth was powerful, more powerful than himself, or Tyr, or any other lord he'd met. If this werewolf had killed him… Squalo bit his lip hard. This display did not pass over Tsuna as Squalo had hoped, but as the Vongola Tenth opened his mouth, Squalo stood up and slammed his hands down on the table.

"Voiii! What a fucking piece of trash! The ninth was nothing but good to that fucking flea-bitten mutt! We should put down that mangy piece of scum!"

The ninth was a good man, but that's not what had earned Squalo's pained loyalty. The old coot was also very powerful, but kind and soft. Kindness disgusted the predator in Squalo's gut. He was only truly loyal to power, raw and real, true power. The ninth's strength was enough for him to follow, even if begrudgingly. Nono had crushed enemies and defended his clan and the Varia clan without falter. Werewolf packs had fled tails between their legs. He felt bile in his stomach when he thought of a beast strong enough to kill the ninth, strong and bitter fear combined with anticipation and reckless excitement.

He knew who the alpha was. He had faced that mongrel he detested so much ninety years before in the affair where Wrath Pack first betrayed the Vongola…

… and Squalo had lost.

He would have his revenge on the wolf that had eaten his arm.

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_For a moment upon his arrival, the Varia clan leader was alone. He'd sent his men to aid other parts of the castle while he made his way to the inner sanctum to meet with Vongola Nono._

_Squalo was not ignorant to the murderous intent that exploded at him from the darkness to his right. His hair stood on end and he whirled to face the beast of blood and death, sword at the ready in front of him. For a moment, exhilaration powered him, showing teeth to the creature in the darkness._

_Red eyes pierced the darkness as the inky black mountain of fur threw itself at the swordsman vampire. Squalo had arrived to help defend the Vongola from this vicious attack and the shark had found himself crossing sword with fang against the monstrous alpha of the Wrath Pack on a full-moon night. Tied into its fur were feathers and beads and trinkets, which would have made Squalo laugh at the audacity if he hadn't been fighting for his life suddenly._

_"You are bitter blooded trash, unworthy of my bite." The werewolf's voice was dark, heavier than the blanket of night._

_The insult stung, "Voi, I don't think you know shit, you wretch!" The shark retaliated and brought his sword down... on stone. The werewolf alpha was fast and Squalo was more than sure that it recognized the silver instead of steel on his blade. He tackled Squalo from behind and claws and muscle forced him to the ground, but the wolf's victory was short-lived as Squalo nearly took the Wolf's ear from his head with a nimble twist. _

_This alpha was older than him by many old moons. Squalo would venture close to a hundred years separated them. It was short time for immortals, but enough to weather experience into an individual. A hundred years was a countless number of full moons for a werewolf to perfect its killing ability._

_Squalo jumped up quickly, __not wanting to spend a moment longer on the ground versus the wolfman. G_rinning at the wolf before him, he lunged. Combat awakened what slumbered inside of him. It awakened instinct and a beast of bloodshed and passion reared its head.

_For a moment, he could see kindred recognition in the red eyes of his nemesis._

_He wasn't expecting jaws to snap shut as quickly as his brain had registered them. He felt muscles and sinew sever, tendons snapping and nerve endings no longer able to fire as the werewolf crushed bone and flesh. The amount of power this wolf bore was sickeningly awesome. He didn't notice his silver sword clatter to the ground near his feet as his fingers went slack, unable to grip anything any longer. _

_That was the single thought Squalo had before he realized there was no longer an arm past his left shoulder._

_Falling to his knees, Squalo stared in shock at the bloody, crushed stump he now possessed. His sword was on the ground as it had slipped out of the fingers of the porcelain white arm, now stained with red, in the wolf's mouth. There was no pain. There was a wounded pride and an incredible amount of blood loss, but somehow, Squalo did not feel pain at this moment. _

_He glared back at the werewolf, baring teeth. It laughed darkly, dropping Squalo's arm to the dirt and stone. Before turning and running off, only to meet his defeat at the hands of the ninth._

_It was the biggest blow to Squalo's pride he'd ever experienced._

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Squalo would have his revenge, his prosthetic fist clenched as excitement filled his veins. For only a moment he would obey this boy. For only a while until he could draw that dog's blood. His look of frustration turned to sadistic excitement as he faced the new Vongola leader.

The memory sprung forth more excitement. He knew what Tsuna was here for, he'd read the letter over and over. Nono was dead, Decimo was green, and then there was the Varia. The Varia was like a second Vongola and the Varia lord knew everything about Nono's will. Vongola Decimo wanted something from Squalo, and he only hoped it was to draw the blood of the wolf once again.

"What would you have me do, scum?"

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**Whew! We made it through the first chapter! Please leave reviews and let me know what you think!**

**Like I said above, if you want to beta, please let me know! This could decide the entire future of this fic!**


	2. Chapter 2: Animalized

Bestial eyes stared at a particularly interesting chip in the wood on the wall. The red-eyed, raven-haired man sat at his own table, empty steins and glasses strewn across it. The only clear space on the table belonged to his boots. His tanned skin seemed to flicker with the light thrown from the tavern fire, accentuating painful burn scars. He made no eye contact with the men below him; he didn't even seem to acknowledge they lived.

Though Xanxus listened to the drunks howl and whoop with a mildly annoyed doze. His head rested on his hand, a rest no one dared to disturb. In the atmosphere of the pub, his dark aura seemed dreadfully out-of-place.

Yet, at the same time, it was completely natural.

If the darkly powerful man whose eyes hid his thoughts under a shroud of blood lust was showing any other mood than murderous apathy, they'd wonder if something was amiss.

After all, Xanxus was their alpha, the boss, the leader, the lord. Whatever word you wanted to put that meant 'in charge' defined his rule. His problems were theirs, though his plans often were not. Not every person in this pub was a werewolf, but they may as well have been. Here, Xanxus was king. His table was his throne and the tavern was his court; every man in his court was his jester and below him in every way, a perfect hierarchy. It was the perfect camouflage for beasts feared by man. Among drunks, no one expected to find lurking bloodthirsty wolves.

It was almost more beneficial to the pack members, whose boss had a bottomless thirst for alcohol and a rage unmatched when he did not receive it. When he demanded drink, they brought him five kinds and hope something pleased him.

On this night, Xanxus drank, the men drank, and all was regular. The others could not even suspect the dark plotting that took place in their alpha's mind. The look in his eyes had not changed.

Tonight was an unusual night where the alpha was anticipating something.

News.

His skin itched; his feral fur was nearly at the surface. The itch burned his skin with the friction against his coarse fur. His gums ached with the phantom feeling of dagger-like fangs. Dysphoria consumed his body, and since the moon was almost ripe and he knew the other wolves in this tavern were feeling the same way. This is why they drank so heavily. They anticipated the time when nature's energy was at its fullest. Werewolves near the full moon drank more, laughed louder, and fought harder than a normal man.

Of those three, Xanxus cared only for drink. To him, laughter was a waste of air and he did not fight with those below him; a jester was not a warrior. He'd never found a proper challenge in combat, only old men who singed his fur and forced him to run away and lick his wounds. He growled.

The fight he lusted for would come soon with his news, Xanxus's eyes flashed as he looked up at the door. As if on cue, a tall man entered, stepping over broken chairs and around drunkards. This man's spiked black hair made him seem even taller than all the men around him. No one blocked his venture across the room to the lone throne of Xanxus. There was a single chair on the other side of the table, behind the flasks. He seated himself and looked at Xanxus, he did not speak. It seemed Xanxus was ignoring his existence.

The news had arrived; Xanxus hoped it would satisfy him.

At last, red eyes turned upon the news-bearer.

"Speak, Leviathan."

The command, no matter the tone, was absolute. The man addressed as Leviathan could not disobey if he'd wanted. Levi waited a few more seconds before speaking.

"Vongola is at the Varia clan manor. We confirmed the new Vongola Lord is inside with the Varia Lord. They are most likely discussing power struggles, I doubt Varia will sit still considering they were loyal to Vongola Nono, and Nono alone. We cannot be sure since we failed in intercept the letter brought to the Varia manor. Vongola Tenth's entourage includes two confirmed guardians, maybe three or four considering their aloof natures. A foolish move so close to a dangerous night. Varia has no doubt grown in power since ninety years ago, but an attack on the full moon night could wipe all in the Manor off the face of this Earth."

It annoyed Xanxus that Leviathan's report was so heavily based upon opinion. The way the fire flickered in Xanxus's eyes made Levi shiver. His alpha was the greatest predator, living for the hunt and kill, and it showed in him even if he didn't intend to.

"Why isn't your news more specific? How close did the scouts get?" Xanxus's tone was wearing thin; any more carelessness and Levi would be dodging glass.

He shifted, slightly unsettled by Xanxus's gaze.

"We couldn't get close enough to stare into their windows, of course. What we know is based on the carriages and which Varia members met the Vongola on their way there. We knew that only the Varia Lord and his three officers were the only ones left in the manor. Of course Varia clan is very small, maybe fifty vampires without counting the four in charge, but individually we cannot underestimate them because of how many of ours they were able to kill ninety ye—" Levi stopped than train of thought when he saw Xanxus's knuckles whiten slightly. One thing that kept him alive was an incredible foresight.

"For Vongola's entourage, we saw two of the guardians exiting the carriages along with Vongola Decimo. They were the Rain and Storm Guardians, the ones who refuse to leave Decimo's side. There's a very high chance the other Guardians were following out of sight, but we did not see any stragglers. They brought maybe twenty clan members with them and no doubt they expected Varia to send them an escort."

Levi shifted uncomfortably for a moment. All he'd ever wanted was Xanxus's approval. He was proud enough to claim he was Xanxus's beta wolf, but the gap between them was large. Levi was so distant from his leader and it pained him. He would never receive the recognition he wanted.

"One of my scouts got riled up by a nearby pack of wilds and had a brief argument. The vampires know there are wolves in the area now but I hope they didn't draw a connection."

When the alpha wolf exhaled, it contained a growl. This news was hardly good enough for him. It rarely was.

"Punish that trash."

Levi flinched. Xanxus's tone was bitter but the look in his eyes drew the conclusion as being set in stone. He felt sorry for the whelp he would have to reprimand.

"Send the scouts back; Vongola will stay until tomorrow to keep out of the sunlight. I need to know if any changes take place."

He could not put into words how disappointed he was in his beta, but he would deal with it. Their pack's numbers had never quite recovered and though they were still greater than some one hundred vampires, Xanxus was not a wanton risk-taker. Information would win an invasion, a murder, an assassination.

Xanxus found himself interested in two things; crushing Vongola and the Varia Lord himself.

* * *

The wolf stalked through the castle. This night was his hunt. He left lesser wolves to fight the trash that tried to oppose their entry into this vast and dark castle. He smelled things and found pathways thought hidden by the vampire scum. Claws crushed old cobblestone and paws padded harshly as he searched for his prey. He loped along, Nono's scent growing stronger as he journeyed deeper into the old castle.

Xanxus remembered when red eyes met silver. A lone defender would block his path.

In those eyes he saw pride and combat. Xanxus smelled the vampire lord in those arrogant eyes, likely the new Varia leader; his exhale was warm and damp, a wolf's sigh. Xanxus hated vampire lords, they did not know discretion. They were traitorous and greedy, self-serving. He would have this silver-haired vampire's throat this night. A prize added to his true goal. It would be easy.

Then he saw in the way this vampire carried himself that he was not fighting for loyalty to Vongola, those silver eyes were too independent. Xanxus felt his lip curl. This lord with the silver blade, bane of his flesh, lived for the fight, hunt, and kill. A vampire that lived only for strength and being the strongest, he'd heard whispers of his title.

Sword Emperor.

They were kindred in a sicker sense of the word. His fur stood on end and he dug his claws into old stone.

Xanxus was kin to no vampire.

"You are bitter blooded trash unworthy of my bite."

He pinned his ears back; the words escaped his maw before he knew what he meant toward this lord. He was not threatened, but being opposed this night began to tire him endlessly, he wanted his victory. It riled him that he could be similar to a creature he despised.

He pounced on his prey, who had noticed him quite quickly. There was a good intuition on this one's shoulders. The vampire shouted something back; Xanxus ignored it and continued to try for his win. Silver clattered against cobblestone and Xanxus dodged it nimbly as the blade came down where he'd been standing. The attacks were slow (likely fast by vampire standards) but strong. The potential he sensed was pleasing.

The battle was almost easy for Xanxus. Despite facing the famed Sword Emperor, his attacks seemed easy to see through. Weaknesses and flaws were obvious. Somehow he wondered if the title wasn't just for show. It was tempting to call out the vampire and tell him to use petty magic tricks that vampires were so fond of. He refrained.

The vampire's counters were ferocious, and Xanxus learned quickly why they called him the Sword Emperor. Xanxus felt like he was facing a shark, the ferocity this vampire expressed was so new to him. In his mind, all vampires were cowards who wielded magic and silly tricks. This one was a warrior, a very proud one. Xanxus wanted to avoid taking a nick from the silver blade this one fought with, silver made him incredibly sick—an allergy as humans would call it. How smart of this young lord, bringing a wolfsbane to a battle with wolves.

He pinned the vampire and was about to preform a finishing blow, but he lept away quickly as the blade whizzed past where his head was. The vampire grinned, on his feet quickly. Xanxus almost liked him, he was funny and tawdry.

He learned the origin of the Sword Emperor title quickly during their combat. His work with the blade was truly artistic and terrifying, were this not a full moon night, he'd almost admire him. It was hard to find artists of the blade in this era where guns were becoming more and more a cheap escape. He'd chewed up his fair share of wolf slayer silver blades, one more wouldn't mean anything.

Xanxus didn't want his throat just yet, he decided on a whim (a prideful whim). He wanted to kill this shark's vicious pride and maybe awaken a beast who would challenge him.

He would test how strong this lord really was. If he could live with a shattered pride, he might be a worthy kill.

For a moment, Xanxus saw a reflection of his younger self from ninety years ago reflected in the stance of this haughty vampire lord. His own old pride gave a death scream.

Xanxus snarled, launching himself forward and crushing his jaws shut on the left arm of his enemy, the dominant sword hand. His prey hardly had time to blink, it was over in a moment. He savored the sensation of the bone splintering in his teeth. He chewed a little and pulled, yanking his head back, severing striated muscle. Silver fell to the ground with a clatter, Xanxus saw shock and anger in his enemy's eyes. His mouth curled into a predatory smile.

Xanxus watched the Varia Lord's pride fall to pieces quietly.

Looking from his broken, bloody stump, to the wolf, and then carefully touching where his arm used to be, the vampire snarled at him, on his knees in the dirt. Xanxus laughed and smiled, all teeth, at his fallen foe. He dropped the bloody and broken arm at his feet and left the broken lord in that courtyard.

* * *

Leviathan was always smart enough to avoid questioning Xanxus's choices, especially his choice in not killing the Varia lord. He trusted that is superior knew what he was doing… sometimes.

Xanxus hated himself for failing to kill Nono that night. In his mind, it only caused more issues. Nono became less inclined to protect the Wrath land from young, foolish vampires. He later tore the old man's throat out for that transgression, crushing his bones and body with ferocious, merciless power. His hatred of the old man and all of his wrongs fueled a murder that would shake the power hierarchy of the vampire clans.

Nono had been an ally for a very long time. He was the only vampire who remembered the times of harmony between werewolves and vampires. Other clans respected this and allied themselves with Vongola, fearing wisdom over power (this had made Xanxus laugh at the kindly old Vongola leader many times). With Nono dead, Xanxus knew other clans would begin to rear their heads, the ones who slept in the silence, dormant. Clans with names like Millefiore or the bitter Shimon.

The Vongola leader had promised to protect what the werewolves fought to keep from vampires. All Xanxus had wanted was to keep the vampires off of werewolf land, incredibly sacred to their beliefs. He was not a particularly religious man by any means, but the fact these lands belonged to his pack and his pack alone created a fierce need to protect them. Vampires had, for almost a thousand years now, disregarded this ancient treaty between their races.

Xanxus had, quite frankly, had enough. Wrath pack quickly became feared for their hatred of vampires, renowned for torturing them.

Wrath pack didn't keep weak-minded allies.

When he'd crippled the silver-haired vampire, Xanxus had hoped for one of two things; that this vampire would stay down and die or that the vampire would recover, lick his wounds, and come back stronger and burning with vengeance. A challenge to the indomitable power Xanxus wielded.

It almost excited him enough to elicit a genuine.

At the news that Vongola had met with this Varia leader, his hand tensed around the glass he was holding so much it cracked quietly, buckling under the strong hand. It disappointed him; maybe the Varia leader would execute Vongola for him.

Crushing the Varia, no matter how Xanxus felt, would not further their goals (but sometimes Xanxus ignored this and obeyed his whims, regardless of what Wrath Pack truly intended to do). Vongola were the ones at fault in this grim and bloody war, so it would be Vongola to die first. His hunt for a challenge could wait.

Tomorrow night was the full moon. Vongola would not have time to pack up and leave before Wrath Pack crushed them and turned their attention on Varia.

"Xanxus…"

The alpha wolf snapped to attention and growled low in his throat when he was addressed by his beta.

"Why is it that you seem more interested in the Varia clan than Vongola themselves?"

Xanxus stared at Levi long and hard. He'd hoped the tall man would be smart enough not to ask. Vongola had betrayed Wrath Pack and was slated for death, this was the most solid fact; Varia was a tiny clan under their wing who would be crushed by other vampire clans if Wrath didn't crush them first when Vongola died. Leviathan didn't see a need to pay attention to them.

To Xanxus's chagrin, Levi continued to speak,

"We have already decided Vongola's destruction. Varia is a wild card. You know their origins about as well as I do. The first clan leader of Varia swore fealty to Vongola Nono in return for protection, and then this new, silver-haired Lord usurped him. What reasons does Varia have to continue to stay loyal to Vongola besides protection?"

Leviathan's words bored Xanxus. He smiled at the beta wolf, showing teeth.

"I am hoping those trashes do not interrupt our fight. They're a shitty wild card that interests me, their leader might be a challenging combatant."

Xanxus was self-centered; smart, powerful, domineering, and completely, absolutely self-centered. He would take the sort of risks than confused the rest of the pack if it meant satisfying himself. Leaving open that Varia could ruin their plans to kill the Vongola Tenth and crush the remnants of the large vampire clan was something only Xanxus would do.

Of course, they wouldn't fail.

* * *

**Gosh I hope this chapter didn't drag on too much! I hope to get the plot actually moving by the next chapter but I felt the need to set up the universe, introduce characters and settings, and give a little insight as to what the basic conflict for this story is since it's an AU! If anything is confusing, let me know!**

**As always, still looking for a dedicated beta and please leave a review telling me what you think!**


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